Social media networking has grown significantly with thousands of companies and individuals all around the world realizing how useful and important visibility is to their relative causes.
There are several reasons why celebrities, politicians, business groups and other personalities join the micro-blogging site.
Obviously, Twitter has become a very effective platform for sharing and acquiring information.
The upcoming US presidential election has relied much on Twitter and other related social media sites to keep people posted and push their respective candidates.
Hundreds of world leaders are part of Twitter.
Advantages for World Leaders
Social media provides a very simple and no-fuss way to get people connected. Individuals are generally allowed to post messages within a 140-character limit. Users can then acquire information and share these with their target audience.
Twitter has also invested heavily in advertising, so more groups and individuals are using promoted tweets and trends to keep them visible to markets that matter most in their respective goals.
Hashtags allow Twitter users to easily follow topics that interest them. They can make use of these in their posts and spread information easily.
Following certain politicians and celebrities will provide instant updates to the user every day.
The Most Popular List?(as of October 18, 2012)
The
President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang only has 2,877 ?followers and uses
@SusiloBYudoyono.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses
@netanyahu and has 2,800 followers.
China Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has 2,880 followers and can be followed through the handle
@wenjiabao.
Former President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?uses the handle?
@PresidentGMA?and has 4,240 followers.
The
President of Uganda Amama Mbazazi is known for being very conversational online and uses the handle
@AmamaMbazazi with over 6,000 followers.
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria has 9,243 followers and uses
@presgoodluck.
Queen Elizabeth also has an official account
@hmqelizabeth with 13,179 followers.
Pope Benedict XVI has 15,690 followers and uses
@PopeBXVI.
Latvia Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis?uses the handle?
@VDombrovskis?and currently has 16,474 followers.
Denmark Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen?uses?
@Larsloekke?and has 17,686 followers.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who has 18,661 followers?can be followed on Twitter via
@berlusconi.
Mark Warner, the US Senator,
?using?
@markwarner?also has 30,806 followers.
John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand uses the handle?
@JohnKeypm?and has 63,606 followers.
Senator Harry Reid has 67,272 followers and uses
@SenatorReid.
President of Rwanda Paul Kagame?uses the handle?
@PaulKagame?and has 82,225 followers.
David Cameron?has 129,745 million followers and uses?
@David_Cameron.
Ann Romney has 139,728 followers and uses
@AnnDRomney.
Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg?has the handle?
@JensStoltenberg?and has 175,582 followers.
US Congressman?
Ron Paul?uses two verified accounts:
@RepRonPaul with 186,529 followers and
@RonPaul with 361,261.
Governor Mike Huckabee using the handle
@GovMikeHuckabee has 236,927 followers.
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada uses the handle?
@PMHarper?and has 250,731 followers.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India has over 263,886 followers and uses the handle
@PMOIndia.
Vice-president Joe Biden?using?
@JoeBiden?has 266,038 followers.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has 290,690 followers and uses the handle
@JuliaGillard.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has 417,621 followers and uses
@MedvedevRussiaE.
Vice-president candidate
Paul Ryan uses the handles?
@PaulRyanVP?which has 454,147 followers and?
@RepPaulRyan which has 300,773 followers.
Ollanta Humala Passo has 414,461 followers. He is the president of Peru and uses the handle
@Ollanta_HumalaT.
Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has 459,061 followers and uses
@PM_Abhisit.
Yukio Hatoyama, Prime Minister of Japan has 616,343 followers and uses?
@hatoyamayukio.
The Bigger Numbers
Sarah Palin has 850,492 followers and can be followed through her handle
@SarahPalinUSA.
President of Chile Sebastian Pinera?can be found on Twitter using the handle?
@sebastianpinera?and has 894,139 followers.
Najib Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, is also on Twitter and uses?
@NajibRazak?with 937,971 followers.
Egyptian President Mohamed ElBaradei has 968,099 followers and uses
@ElBaradei.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has 1,143,101 million followers and uses
@noynoyaquino.
President-elect of Mexico
Enrique Pena Nieto has 1,145,910 million followers and uses the handle
@EPN.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd?has 1,160,385 followers on Twitter and uses the handle?
@KRuddMP.
Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates has 1,194,398 followers and uses?
@HHSHKMOHD.
Juan Manual Santos Calderon?(
@JuanManSantos), President of Colombia, has 1,330,165 followers.
President of Argentina Cristina Fernandez?has 1,371,171 million followers and uses?
@CFKArgentina.
Republican presidential candidate?
Mitt Romney?
@mittromney?has 1,475,627 mllion followers.
The President of Brazil also has 1,721,535 million followers.?
Brazilian President Dilma Roussef?uses the handle?
@dilmabr.
Senator John McCain also has 1,762,744 million followers and uses
@SenJohnMcCain.
Barack Obama?s wife
Michelle Obama, uses
@MichelleObama and has 1,889,644 million followers.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has 2,165,455 million followers and uses
@FelipeCalderon.
The
President of Turkey Abdullah Gul has 2,324,245?million followers and uses the handle
@cbabdullahgul.
Queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah?uses?
@QueenRania?and has 2,367,528 followers.
Former Vice-President
Al Gore has 2,527,528?million followers and uses the handle
@algore.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger?uses?
@schwarzenegger?and has 2,629,837 million followers.
Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela uses
@chavezcandanga and has 3,648,948 million followers.
The winner...
President of the United States
Barack Obama tops the list and uses
@barackobama with over 21,048,360 million followers.
Based on the list, it is obvious that social media has dominated the way political parties and global leaders share information and keep in touch with concerned individuals.
There are so many individuals who wish to get the latest news about upcoming elections, political objectives and other world issues. It is only through social media and the internet that they can get insider access and share their own comments and concerns.
There are about 254 world leaders who tweet personally, although there are over a thousand accounts of politicians existing on Twitter, some by their respective political teams and some by satirists and fans.
A lot of people appreciate leaders who post their own messages. This gives the approach a more personal appeal.
